What is the grain-to-glass trend?

In an unexpected offshoot of the local food movement, distilleries are embracing farming.

The crops growing on 1,000-acre Myer Farm in upstate New York have been used in products ranging from animal feed to tofu. On a whim, fifth-generation farmers and brothers Joe and John Myer decided to try their hand at distilling their wheat, rye, corn and barley into spirits.

“Farming is in our blood,” Joe Myer says. “We put as much love and detail into distilling spirits as we do into growing crops.”

In 2012, Myer Farm Distillers released its first bottles of vodka, whiskey and gin handcrafted from grains grown on the farm. The entire process from growing the grains to milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling and bottling is done onsite.

The farm has devoted 100 acres to growing grains for its distillery and sells spirits from its tasting room and select retailers and restaurants in New York. Myer Farm Distillers also offers tastings and tours of the farm and distillery.

“You can look through the tasting room window and see where the grains are grown,” Myer says. “It opens up a conversation about food and farming, and deepens the connection to our products.”